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Exceptional Aptitude

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Sun, 2009-08-30 15:39

Rainfall

Exceptional Aptitude

Okay, so color me confused here. Rules state - You may not raise your aptitude above 30. Exceptional Aptitude states that you may raise your aptitude to 10 above the normal cap (30 for flats, 35 for splicers, 40 for all others) So is there a hard cap for Ego Aptitudes(could my unsleeved/infomorph Ego have a COG of 40 without Exceptional Aptitude, or is it stuck at 30?), that changes when you get Exceptional Aptitude, or does Exceptional Aptitude only apply to a Morph's Aptitude maximum?

Thu, 2009-09-03 11:24

The Fnords The Fnords's picture

I interpret it as being able

I interpret it as being able to have one aptitude go 10 above the maximum of whatever morph you're in. Say you've bought a Remade starting morph, take the Exceptional Aptitude trait and pump your COG up to a total of 50 (40 base, 10 from the morph). You then get killed, and don't have the funds for a second remade, so you end up in a Menton. It has a +5 to INT, bringing your INT up to 45, but the Menton's aptitude maximum is 30, meaning your INT is capped 10 above that, at 40. What may be confusing you is that the text "you may raise your aptitude to 10 above the normal cap (30 for flats, 35 for splicers, 40 for all others)" refers to the cap WITH exceptional aptitude. Flats are capped at 20 normally, splicers at 25, most other morphs at 30 and remade at 40. I'd rule that mental aptitude caps are partly based on your mental hardware: Your programming as an Infomorph, your synaptic speed as a biological morph, your cooling system limiting the clock speed of a machine. Exceptional Aptitude is some clever workaround that your mind has to surpass this barrier. It could be natural, it could have been artificially induced, but it's something rather special about your mind.

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If you don't see the fnord, it can't eat you.

Fri, 2009-09-04 10:53

Moon-Hawk

I almost completely agree

I think you've got it right, except I don't think you can get a remade up to 50. I think it works exactly as you say, except there's still a hard, hard, hard limit of 40. It's not really clear enough, but between talking about the hard cap of 40 elsewhere in the book and the "40 for all others", that's just the impression I come away with.

Fri, 2009-09-04 14:09

The Fnords The Fnords's picture

I think the CP cost of first

I think the CP cost of first taking a Remade, then taking exceptional aptitude and pumping an ability up to the cap, plus the fact that you'd be losing the use of more than normal if you resleeved out of your Remade morph is probably enough balance. I would, however, be wary of a player making a character with an aptitude of 50; that smacks of minmaxing to me, even with high aptitudes having less of an advantage in Eclipse Phase than in most systems. (Take D&D: A min-maxed character has one stat that boosts all of their key abilities beyond the norm. In EP, high aptitude means you spend less points on your key skills, and thus can be less focused on your best skills. A high SOM increases melee damage, but that's about all.)

—

If you don't see the fnord, it can't eat you.

Mon, 2009-09-07 00:43

Admini

In regard to Remade morphs,

In regard to Remade morphs, "40 for all others" is a very deliberate statement in this regard. P. 124, "No aptitude, however augmented or not, may ever exceed a value of 40." I do think it's a bit of a typo where uplifts are concerned, as they should go to 35, and some morphs have individual aptitude maximums that could be effected differently.

Your infomorph could only get over 30 (The "natural" limit)by using something like a "Drive" Nanoalgorithm.